halfway to eternity
by FavouriteYear
Summary: Luke makes four stops on his way to Eternity. Spoilers for the entire series upto 'Sacrifice' and also Spoilers for 'Union'. Luke/Mara, Ben.


**I.**

He sighs, the sound loud in the quiet darkness of the room and Artoo, tweetles a soft query.

"It's nothing Artoo. Just restless".

He shifts again, trying to ignore the restlessness pressing down on him. Meditation was out of the question, he's been sitting crossed legged in the middle of his, _their_ living room, trying uselessly to force his mind to move away from distraction. But, after failing to focus for an hour, he's given up, letting his mind drift aimlessly, from his father to Leia, to Mara and back again

He glances at the Chrono and sees that it's nearly twenty past four in the morning. He runs a weary hand through his sandy hair turns his gaze outside at speeders that continue to whizz by with an alacrity that both amuses and surprises him. Coruscant still moves at the same pace it had for aeons.

Something shifts subtly at his senses. He swings his gaze to the door, and watches it slide open. The pale blue light of the sky frames her silhouette and his mouth curves upward into a warm smile.

"Hey," she greets him, her vivid green eyes glittering fondly.

He can sense her amusement, muted only by her joy at being home. _Home_, he reflects happily.

"Hey," he responds and he feels the sharp restlessness seep out of him.

* * *

**II.**

The sunlight shines down on them, highlighting the gold in her hair.

Luke smiles quietly, as he watches his toddler son giggle happily while trying to catch the brightly coloured insects fluttering about his head.

Mara shifts slightly, her arm brushing softly against his own. Unconsciously he leans into her touch, savouring her sweet presence that shines so brightly in the force.

She glances at him out of the corner of her eye, one red-gold eyebrow raised in question. He smiles at her, basking in this fleeting contentment.

"Do you remember?" she asks suddenly, breaking into his hazy day-dreams.

He opens one eye languidly, and turns to face her. Ben giggles happily on the ground, swatting a brightly coloured insect that has settled on his nose.

"Like it was yesterday." He replies looking at her warmly, thinking of the time they'd spent on the nature reserve just before their wedding. Catching the tail end of his thoughts, she moves closer to him, and he reaches out for her, wrapping his arm around her, burying his nose in her hair. The scars from the war and her illness are still fresh and raw, but he ignores them, relishing the illusory peace that they were currently enjoying.

Ben wobbles over to them, and clambers onto Mara's lap. She laughs and the sound warms his soul.

He closes his eyes, and basks in their joy and love, and forgets the world outside their bubble for a while.

* * *

**III.**

Lately he wakes to an empty bed and a sharp void in his heart. He usually closes his eyes, and imagines her tangled up in his covers, red hair spilling across her face. He remembers waking to green eyes, bright with love and laughter. Most mornings it's enough to make him forget how to breathe.

He showers, he dresses, he fights, he works, and he takes care of his son.

Some days he just counts down the hours, and minutes until it's time for him to go home. Home is a long way off. And she's no longer there beside him to make it easier.

He sees her in Ben, in the sharp lines of his son's face, in the red-gold of his hair, and most days it's enough to make his journey home easier.

But sometimes, like now, when he's on some spaceship or the other, with the suffocating blankness of space stretching outside his viewport, his loss is like a physical thing. Occasionally he imagines her there with, one eyebrow raised, a hand on her lips and her full mouth curved into a delectable smirk. Longing hits him like a sucker punch to the gut.

He can sense Ben outside his door coming for him. He closes his eyes, breathes in the memory of her presence and gets up to face the day. It's all he can do for now.

* * *

**IV.**

Mara beckons him with open arms

"Mara" he says, disbelieving. She looks like she did the first time they met forty, nearly fifty years ago. She's smiling, and he thinks he can see a tear in her clear green eyes. Eyes that he hasn't seen in so very long

"I've missed you." She says, and her voice is definitely quivering.

Suddenly she's in his arms. Luke closes his eyes, and breathes her in.

Home is Mara and the Force.

* * *

FIN.


End file.
